Kite



Fan. 31, 1961 L. J. ANDREWS 2,969,946

KITE

Filed 001:. 30, 1958 IN V EN TOR.

LOUIS J. ANDREWS BY ATTORN EYS United States Patent KITE Louis J. Andrews, North Reading, Mass., assignor to Paul K. Guillow, Inc., Wakefield, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Oct. 30, 1958, Ser. No. 770,752 Claims. (Cl. 244-154) This invention relates to a kite in the form of a toy airplane, an object of the invention being to provide a kite of this kind which can be readily assembled and which flies easily with a very light tension on the kite string even in a strong wind.

As herein described in more detail, the kite comprises a plane fuselage member disposed in a vertical plane and preferably shaped to represent a side elevation of an airplane. Projecting laterally from the fuselage member are two wings of delta or triangular shape. A transverse spar extends through the fuselage member and bears on the upper surface of the wings so as to give them a camber which improves the flying quality of the kite. For a more complete understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following description thereof and to the drawing of which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of a kite embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of a rear fitting shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a perspective, on an enlarged scale of a forward fitting shown in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a sectional view of a wing tip member with ends of edge pieces projecting thereinto; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view of a wing tip member.

As shown in Figure 1, the kite may have a fuselage member shaped to resemble the outline of an aeroplane including a tail or rudder portion 12. The member 10 may be made out of any suitable material, such, for example, as cardboard or a thin board of balsa wood. Projecting out from each side of the fuselage member 10 is a wing 14 of triangular shape. These wings may be made of tough paper or any other suitable sheet material. The leading outboard edge of each wing 14 is secured along its entire length to an edge piece 16 which may be an eighth-inch dowel of hardwood such as birch. To support the edge pieces 16, the inboard end of each edge piece 16 is received in a tubular element 18 which is a part of a forward fitting or block 20 disposed in a hole or opening 22 in the forward portion of the fuselage member 10. For convenience in mounting the fitting 20 on the fuselage, this fitting is provided with a channel 24 which is just wide enough to receive a marginal area of the fuselage member 10 immediately to the rear of the opening 22 with a frictional fit. The inboard ends of the edge pieces 16 also have a frictional fit in the tubular elements 18. The trailing edges of the wings 14 are secured along their entire length to trailing edge pieces 26 which are preferably hardwood dowels. The inboard ends of these edge pieces are received by a rear fitting 28 having tubular elements 30 in which they fit frictionally. The rear fitting or block-28 is mounted in an opening or hole 32 in the rear portion of the fuselage member 10. The fitting 28 also is made with a channel 34 just wide enough to receive an area of the fuselage member with a frictional fit.

The tubular elements 18 and 30 are formed with a 10 degree dihedral, that is, each of these tubular elements is inclined to the horizontal by an angle of 10. The outer ends of the edge pieces 16 and 26 of each wing are frictionally held in a triangular cap 36. The inboard edge of each wing, that is, the edge which extends along the side of the fuselage member 10, is not attached thereto. In order to give each wing a camber or downward convexity, a spar 40 is provided, this spar being a stiffly flexible reed or the like which extends through a hole 42 in the fuselage member 10 and bears on the upper surface of the wings 14. The hole 42 is at a lower level than a line between the fittings 20 and 28. Owing to this fact and to the fact that the edge pieces 16 and 26 are inclined upward at a ten degree angle, the ends of the spar 40 are at a considerably higher level than the mid point which is in the hole 42. Hence the spar 40 is sprung to an arcuate form as indicated in Figure 1 and presses downward upon the upper surfaces of the wings. As a result of this, the triangular forward portion 44 of each wing slopes forward and upward from the spar 40, and the trapezoidal portion 46 rearward of the spar 40 slopes rearward and upward from the spar to the trailing edge pieces 26.

In the kite shown in Figure 1, the leading edge pieces 16, when viewed in plan, slope rearwardly at acute angles from the fuselage member 10 while the trailing edge pieces 26 preferably but not necessarily extend outward at right angles to the long axis of the fuselage member 10.

The kite string 50 is attached to the lower edge of the fuselage member 10 at two points by means of a bridle 52. The kite string and bridle may be of ordinary thread since the tension thereon is very slight owing to the flying qualities of the kite.

I claim:

1. A kite having the form of a toy airplane comprising an elongated fuselage member, a triangular wing of tough flexible sheet material on each side of said fuselage member projecting outward therefrom, edge pieces of substantial rigidity extending along the outboard edges of each said wing, each said edge piece being joined at one end to the fuselage member and sloping outward and upward therefrom at an angle of about 10 from the horizontal, and a stifily flexible transverse spar bearing upon the upper surface of said wings, said spar extending through said fuselage member at a point lower than the points of juncture between said edge pieces and said fuselage member to an edge piece on each of said wings, whereby said spar depresses said wings at the line of contact and causes the portion of each wing forward of the spar to slope forward and upward from the spar and the portion rearward of the spar to slope rearward and upward from the spar.

2. A kite as described in claim 1, each of said edge pieces being a stiff dowel secured to an outboard edge of a wing along the entire length thereof.

3. A kite as described in claim 2, and flat triangular caps frictionally receiving the outboard ends of the edge pieces for each wing.

4. A kite as described in claim 2, said kite having forward and rear fittings in said fuselage holding the inboard ends of said edge pieces.

5. A kite as described in claim 4, said fuselage member having two openings therein for said forward and rear fittings, said fittings each having a channel therein fitted by a marginal portion of said fuselage member at the corresponding opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

